


Caught in the Rain

by noblydonedonnanoble



Category: Gracepoint (TV), Monte Carlo (2011)
Genre: College AU, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-14
Updated: 2014-09-14
Packaged: 2018-02-17 10:12:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2306003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noblydonedonnanoble/pseuds/noblydonedonnanoble
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alicia is on her way back from town when it begins to rain. </p><p> </p><p>Meeting the prompts: "What are you doing here?" from Georgie; and, "Mind if I sleep here tonight?" from an Anon</p>
            </blockquote>





	Caught in the Rain

**Author's Note:**

> This fic takes place a few weeks after the events of [this](http://tatennant.tk/post/89476810865/would-you-do-tripped-down-the-stairs-for-a-cute) drabble and [this](http://tatennant.tk/post/89688650625/spin-the-bottle-emmett-alicia) slightly longer fic, but this can be read as a stand-alone.

                Alicia is on her way back from town when it begins to rain.

                It’s just a drizzle at first, and she picks up the pace a bit when she feels the first drops. Maybe, she thinks, maybe she’ll make it back before it gets too bad.

                But all it takes is a few seconds for it to pick up into a downpour.

                It would almost be funny, except that her mind immediately leaps to the sketchbook and art supplies in her canvas bag. If they were ruined, it would be devastating.

                And so she breaks into a run, hugging the bag close and giggling a bit. She can feel herself getting chilled to the bone by the rain and the wind. Of all the nights not to wear a jumper.

                As she nears the school, it occurs to Alicia that it would be wholly impractical for her to attempt to reach her own dormitory, which is on the far end of the campus, at least another five or ten minutes away. Her poor sketchbook wouldn’t stand a chance.

                Making a split-second decision, she zeroes in on the nearest building. It’s a dorm. Or at least, she thinks it’s a dorm-she’s only been here for a few weeks, after all, so she isn’t quite sure. But right now, any sort of refuge is preferable to being stuck in hurricane-like conditions. In no time, she is scrambling for the door handle, yanking the door open and scrambling inside.

                She stands in the vestibule, shivering. Terrified to look into her bag, because as long as she doesn’t, she can at least tell herself that her sketches are safe. Not able to go any farther, because they keep the inner door locked and she hasn’t got a key.

                Hopefully the storm will let up soon.

                The loud click of the door makes her jump, and she spins around, prepared to greet…

                “Alicia?”

                “Emmett!”

                That explains why she was fairly certain that this was a dorm-because it’s Emmett’s dorm. She’d walked back here with him a few weeks before, after their first official date.

                “God, you must be soaked to the bone. Do you want to come back to my room? I can get you a towel, maybe some dry clothes.”

                For a moment, Alicia hesitates. Going back to a boy’s room. What a strange thought. But there’s nothing untoward about it and he’s just looking at her with deep concern. “Yeah, that would probably be good,” she agrees, and he steps back to allow her inside.

                “Alright, let me just…” He rushes over to the television and turns it off. She hadn’t even noticed that it was on in the first place. “Okay. I’m up a floor, c’mon.”

                “This is a nice surprise,” he offers as they head up the stairs. He’s smiling, although it seems that he knows he shouldn’t be happy and is trying to suppress it. “What are you doing here, though? I’m guessing you didn’t come all the way across campus in the storm to see me.”

                “Not so much. I was just on my way back from that open mic when the rain started.”

                Emmett’s eyes widen. “Did it really go this late? I feel bad for not coming, now, I could have caught most of it.”

                “Don’t worry about it, you couldn’t have known. You had those assignments to grade. How did that go?”

                He grimaces. Although he’d initially been thrilled when his favorite professor asked him to be a TA for one of his introductory classes, he lost all enthusiasm when he discovered how mediocre the students were. “Let’s just say I would have rather been with you and leave it at that.”

                Alicia smiles gently. "This just means you'll have to come with me next time."

                "You couldn't keep me away if you tried," he assures her. After a few moments, "This is me."

                The sight of his dorm room is almost a disappointment after all the time she's spent imagining what it might be like… if only because it's so exceedingly mundane. It's a bit messier than the girls' rooms in her dorm, but that's to be expected. The beds are lofted to make room for a futon on one side of the room, and a television and numerous gaming consoles sit beneath the other bed.

                Emmett zeroes in on a dresser-the one on the cleaner side of the room; Alicia takes a moment to feel quietly proud-and opens it, peering into one of the drawers. "Okay, so I have tee-shirts and I guess some pajama bottoms you can have your pick of. But I'm not sure…" He trails off, glancing up at her with his brow furrowed. "Um, are your clothes all completely soaked?"

                It takes a few seconds for her to realize that he's asking about her underwear, and even then it's only because she notices how red his ears are getting. She feels herself flushing too. "I think so, yeah."

                On some level, she's aware of how absurd it is for them to be stumbling over this. But they've only been dating for a few weeks-they're still firmly in the making-out-for-hours-mostly-clothed stage of their relationship.

                "Okay, then you can… Well, just feel welcome to whatever," he concludes, gesturing vaguely to the dresser. "I'll be back in a second."

                He rushes out of the room to give her some privacy. Before even searching for new clothes, she scrambles out of her blouse and trousers. There's a drying rack in one corner of the room, onto which she quickly discards the soaked clothes.

                A few minutes later, Emmett returns, making a show of taking loud steps and clearing his throat as he nears the door. But by the time he lets himself into the room, Alicia is already clad, and huddled under a blanket on the futon.

                "You cold?" he asks, taking in the sight of her.

                "Freezing," she admits.

                "I could grab another blanket if you like."

                She blinks up at her boyfriend, smiling shyly. "Or you could just join me under the blanket. Shared body heat and all."

                "Right, yes, or I could do that." He glances back at the television. "Want to watch a movie while we wait for the storm to die down?"

                Alicia nods. "That sounds good, yeah."

                He picks some buddy cop movie that Alicia is unfamiliar with, but as he settles in on the futon, he assures her that it's a good one.

                She doesn't get much of a chance to find out if that's true, though-less than ten minutes in, the lights flicker for a few seconds before blinking out altogether.

                For a few moments, they sit in silence together, and it's Emmett who finally breaks it. "I think the power just went out," he whispers, because something about the absence of lights makes him feel like he should whisper.

                "I don't suppose you've got any candles," she whispers back.

                "We're not supposed to have candles in the dorms."

                "I know that, but I thought perhaps you have contraband candles," Alicia says with a shrug.

                "Contraband candles?" Emmett exclaims, laughing. He finds the concept so amusing that he leans in to kiss her, but his eyes have yet to fully adjust to the darkness so he misses her mouth and pecks her on the nose. They both take a moment to giggle before he continues, "As brilliant as that is, no, I'm afraid I didn't smuggle in any candles."

                "Flashlight?"

                "Yeah, I think…" He trails off, already halfway to his feet, then lets out a loud sigh and plops back down. "I lent it to someone last week and they haven't given it back."

                "So we're just stuck here in the dark."

                Emmett scoffs. "There are much worse places to be stuck in the dark."

                "Oh? Do tell."

                "My freshman year, we had a power-out during classes. I was in physics. The classroom didn't have any windows and the professor figured that he could keep lecturing with the lights off. He finally let us go after half an hour when he realized it wasn't coming back."

                "So what you're saying is that sitting in the dark with me is preferable to sitting in the dark during a physics lecture. You sure know how to charm a girl."

                He chuckles lowly. "I try." This time when he goes in for a kiss, he meets with more succcess, and he presses his lips softly to hers. They linger like that, tasting each other and Alicia can feel Emmett smiling against her lips right before he pulls back. "I'll have you know I was thrilled when I saw you. Or, y'know, not thrilled to see you drenched and shivering, but…"

                "I know what you mean, darling, you can stop stumbling about. I was delighted to see you too. And not just because this was an excuse for me to try on that incredibly warm jumper of yours."

                "Yeah, I noticed that! It's my favorite, I hope you don't plan to steal it." Silence. "Alicia…" More silence, as she loops her arm through his and burrows up against his shoulder. "I'm never getting it back, am I?"

                "Doubtful. It's cozy and it smells like you, I like it."

                Emmett doesn't respond, and as the silence stretches on, Alicia begins to worry more and more that she's upset him. "Did I say something wrong?" she asks at last, feeling more than a little nervous.

                "Oh God, no, no." He sits up more and looks at her outline in the dark. "It's just, that's such a couple-y thing, y'know? And I haven't really had that before with anyone I dated."

                "Because of you or because of the girls?"

                He laughs but he sounds a bit nervous about it. "Probably a bit of both." A moment's pause. "I like it, though. It's good. This is… good."

                The two of them stay up well into the night, chatting in the dark as the storm rages on outside. Alicia doesn't even realize that she's becoming drowsy until she's blinking awake. Her head is nestled on Emmett's chest and the lights are shining above them.

                "Hey, the power's back on," he says softly.

                "Yeah," she agrees. She doesn't hear the rain anymore; apparently that's stopped too. But it must be 3 in the morning, she doesn't want to go back to her dorm now. Blushing slightly, she murmurs, "I… Do you mind if I sleep here tonight?"

                "Nah, of course not." Emmett's trying to sound casual but his ears are bright pink. "You can use my bed if you like, I'll just sleep down here."

                "Don't be daft. If you don't get in bed and cuddle with me I'll take it as a personal offense."

                So while Alicia climbs into bed, Emmett flips off the lights before crawling in with her. He hesitates for a few moments, but she pulls his arm over her waist and interlocks their fingers on her stomach, so he pulls her closer.

                “Hey Emmett?”

                “Yeah?”

                “Thanks for being there.”

                His heart flips in his chest. “Any time, Doll.”


End file.
